Reclosable carton



o. J. FREIMAN 3,371 845 RECLOSABLE CARTON 3 sheets-sheet 1 March 5, 1968 Fil ed June 22, 1967 INVENTOR. DAVID J. FREIMAN I BY ATTORNEY March 5, 1968 D. J. FREIMAN 3,371,845

REGLOSABLE CARTON Filed June 22, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTbR. DAVID J. FREIMAN Mfi-XLZLQ/ ATTORNEY March 5, 1968 n. J. FREIMAN RECLOSABLE CARTON 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 22, 1967 INVENTOR. DAVID J. FREIMAN BY ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 3,371,845 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 3,371,845 RECLOSABLE CARTON David J. Freiman, Corning, N.Y., assignor to Corning Glass Works, Corning N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 22, 1967, Ser. No. 648,113 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-39) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carton structure designed for automatic machine sealing after filling, with the overlapping glue-sealed flaps on one end thereof having interlocking tongue and slot portions to lockably reclose such carton once the glueseal is broken.

Background of the invention Automatic forming and closing of corrugated cartons by machinery has definite economic and structural advantages in high speed packaging. In the past, however, applications for such cartons have been somewhat limited because of their rather rough or unfinished appearance and the difficulty encountered in opening the adhesively bonded or glued flaps. As a result, the application of such mechanically formed cartons has been limited to industrial areas.

The recent use of improved graphics and manufacturing techniques has materially enhanced the aesthetic appearance of these cartons and has made them feasible for consumer-oriented applications. However, a desirable merchandising feature for consumer packaging is an easy reclosure, thus enabling store clerks and purchasers to examine the contents and then securely reclose the carton prior to further handling.

Prior to the present time, there has not been a simple and easily operable reclosure structure for reclosing mechanically-formed cartons which have all their end flaps adhesively-bonded or glue-sealed during the forming and sealing of such cartons. Accordingly, once the cured or dried adhesive was broken to open the carton, it could not subsequently be utilized as a sealed container without a cumbersome manipulation of the flaps. Additional means such as exterior taping, stapling, or binding were usually required to reclose the carton; however, they were not always readily available to a consumer.

Description of the prior art An attempt was made to overcome this very problem in United States Patent No. 3,201,026 to Travis et al. However, the Travis et al. device has not been completely satisfactory since it involves a cumbersome manipulation of tongues, barbs, and slots in order to obtain a lockable reclosure. Further, once the locking devices of the Travis et al. patent were reclosed in the manner suggested thereby, the resiliency of the folded barbs made it virtually impossible to reopen the carton without completely destroying the relocking feature.

Summery of the invention Briefly, this invention relates to a novel carton construction which may be initially automatically closed and glue-sealed by machinery after the carton has been filled, wherein one end thereof is provided with easily-operable relockable end closure flaps. The relockable end closure flaps include a pair of inner slotted flaps, and a pair of outer tapered flaps. When in a glued-sealed condition,- the outer tapered end flaps have easily openable adhesively-bonded overlapping portions provided with selective controlled glue areas. However, when the glue-seal is broken, lockable tongue portions, formed on each tapered end flap, cooperate with the slot formed in the slotted end flaps to lockably reclose the carton.

It thus has been an object of the present invention to provide an improved easily operable lockable reclosure structure for machine formed and sealed cartons.

A further object of the invention has been to provide an improved locking arrangement which maybe operated without deforming the locking portions, so that the carton may be opened and closed numerous times.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for forming a carton embodying the novel reclosure structure of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a machine-sealed adhesively-bonded carton formed from the blank shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIG. 2 with the adhesive-bonded seal having been broken and the end closure flaps in an initial position for lockably reclosing the carton.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carton shown in FIG. 3 with the end closure flaps in a fully reclosed and locked position.

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged fragmental view in elevation, taken along line VV of FIG. 1, illustrating a looking feature incorporated within the slotted end flaps of the reclosure structure.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings, and particularly FIG. 1, a carton blank 10, suitable for automatic machine forming and sealing, is shown having a pair of side panels 11, 12, a pair of main panels 13, 14 and a glue flap 15, which form the bounding wall structure of the carton. One end of the blank is provided with standard overlapping end closure flaps including a pair of inner end flaps 16, 17 and a pair of overlapping outer end flaps 18, 19. The opposite end of the blank, however, is provided with interlocking reclosable end closure flaps including a pair of slotted end flaps 20, 21 extending from side panels 11, 12 respectively, and a pair of tapered end flaps 22, 23 extending from main panels 13, 14 respectively. The various panels and flaps are foldably connected to one another by means of conventional crease or score lines 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, the blank is preferably formed of corrugated board having an inner liner 25, corrugated media 26, and an outer liner 27. Each of the slotted end flaps 20, 21 is provided with an outwardly-open U-shaped slot 28, 29 respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner end of each slot 28, 29, is provided with a locking recess or undercut 30, formed by making the slot slightly longer in inner liner 25 than in outer liner 27, to provide an improved locking arrangement which will become more apparent hereinafter.

Each of the tapered end flaps 22, 23 is foldably provided along a suitable score line 31 with a tongue portion 32, 33 respectively. Tongue portions 32,. 33 are provided on opposite side edges with notched or undercut portions 34 which, when in a reclosed position, cooperate with locking recesses 30 to provide an improved locking reclosable structure. Tapered end flap 22 is provided with a hole potrion 35, such as by die cutting, whereas tongue portion 33 is provided with a complementary tab portion 36 which may be die out along line 37 and foldable along score line 31.

In operation, the carton is machine formed, and after filling is automatically closed and sealed to produce a glue-sealed carton as shown in FIG. 2. However, whereas overlapping end flaps 18, 19 and glue flap 15 are provided with the usual quantity of a suitable adhesive and sealed in a conventional manner, tapered end flaps 22, 23 are provided with a controlled amount of adhesive in selective areas so as to facilitate the ease of opening the 3 sealed carton. As can be seen from FIG. 3, when the carton was initially machine-sealed, a limited quantity of glue 38 was provided in selective areas of tapered end flaps 22 and 23. Although illustrated as a spot applica tion, the glue may take any desired configuration.

As shown, the glue applied to tapered end flap 22 will adhere such flap to slotted end flaps 20, 21, whereas the glue applied to tapered end fiap 23 will overlappingly adhere such flap to the tongue portion 32 of tapered flap 22. Outer tongue portion 33 is free of any glue application, and thus is not adhesively secured to tapered end flap 22. Accordingly, tongue portion 33 may be easily grasped to facilitate the breaking of the adhesive bond and open tapered flap 23. In a like manner, once tapered end flap 23 has been opened, tongue portion 32 may be grasped to break open the seal between tapered end flap 22 and slotted end fiaps 20, 21; or a finger may be inserted within the hole portion 35 to grasp the tapered flap and accomplish such results. It thus can be seen that the tapered end flaps not only indicate the end of the carton to be opened, but also facilitate such opening by providing a reduced seal area, limited glue application, and easily grasped unglued areas for breaking the glue seal.

When it is desired to reclose the opened carton, the slotted end flaps 20, 21 are first folded along their respective score lines to the position shown in FIG. 3, so that the open ended Ushape slots 28, 29 are in complementary relation with one another to, in effect, provide a single elongated slot. Tongue 32 is folded along score line 31 and positioned within complementary slots 28, 29 so that notches or undercut portions 34 lockably cooperate with the undercut recessed portions 30 at the inner ends of each slot. In a like manner, tongue 33 is folded along its score line 31 and positioned within slots 28, 29 adjacent tongue 32, and in such a manner so that its notched or undercut portions 34 also cooperate with the undercut recessed portions 30 of the slots 28, 29. The notched portions 34 on each tongue 32, 33 cooperably engage with the undercut recesses 30 adjacent the ends of slots 28, 29 to lockably retain the tapered end flaps in an improved reclosed and locked position. When in such position, tab 36 com plementarily lies within hole portion 35 and provides a convenient pull tab for easily reopening the closed and locked end closure flaps. Further, since the interlocking flaps are easily operable, they are not readily deformed, and accordingly the closure may be reused numerous times without affecting the lockability of the operating parts.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

i. A reclosable adhesively-sealed carton structure comprising, a plurality of panel members connected together to form a bounding Wall structure of a carton, a plurality of end closure flaps on one end of said panel members adhesively sealed in an overlapping position to close one end of said bounding wall structure, interlockable end closure flaps formed on the opposite end of said panel members releasably sealed together in an overlapping relation, said interlockable end closure flaps having means for lockably reclosing said carton once the adhesive seal is broken; said end closure flaps including a pair of slotted end flaps and a pair of tapered end flaps; said means for lockably reclosing said carton including an open-ended slot formed in each said slotted end flap, an undercut recess formed at an inner end of each said slot, a tongue portion foldably connected to each of said tapered end fiaps along a score line, a notched portion formed in opposite side edges of each said tongue portion, and said notched portions cooperating with said undercut recesses to lockably retain said tongue portions when positioned within said slotted portions and thereby provide an improved lockably reclosable carton.

2. A reclosable carton structure as defined in claim 1 wherein an adhesive is provided on selective portions of said tapered end flaps to initially seal said end closure flaps in an overlapping relation, and the tongue portion on the outer overlapping tapered end flap is free of adhesive to facilitate the breaking of the adhesive seal and the opening of the carton.

3. A reclosable carton structure defined in claim 1 wherein said structure is formed of corrugated board having an inner liner, corrugating media, and an outer liner; and said undercut recess at the inner end of each said slot being formed with the slot extending further along the inner liner than along the outer liner.

4. A reclosable carton structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a pull tab portion is formed in a tongue portion on one of said tapered end flaps and is positionable within a recess portion formed in the other of said tapered end flaps, to facilitate the reopening of said reclosed carton when said tongue portions are lockably positioned within said slotted portions.

References Cited UNITED ST TES PATENTS 3,201,026 8/1965 Travis et al 229-39 3,226,007 12/1965 Thies et al 229-39 3,272,421 9/1966 Perry 229-39 DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primar Examiner, 

